Powered medical tool incorporating means for cleaning the same

ABSTRACT

A powered tool utilized by physicians and dentists which includes a housing having a chamber therein. Gear means interconnecting drive and driven shafts are positioned within the chamber. The housing includes a passage which extends from the exterior of the housing into the chamber and through which cleaning fluid is drawn upon rotation of the drive shaft with the housing submerged in a cleaning fluid.

United States Patent Talaga 1 1 Dec. 26, 1972 [54] POWERED MEDICAL TOOL [5 6] References Cited INCORPORATING MEANS FOR UNITED STATES PATENTS CLEANING THE SAME 3,411,212 11/1968 Staunt 32/27 Inventor: Thomas E. Talaga, 3603 Michigan Court, Duneland Beach, Michigan City, Ind. 46360 Filed: Nov. 20, 1970 Appl. No.: 91,312

U.S. c1 ..32/27, 32/59 1m. 01 ..A61c 1/10 Field of Search ..32/27, 59, 58

Primary Examiner-Robert Peshock Attorney-Oltsch & Knoblock [57 ABSTRACT A powered tool utilized by physicians and dentists which includes a housing having a chamber therein. Gear means interconnecting drive and driven shafts are positioned within the chamber. The housing includes a passage which extends from the exterior of the housing into the chamber and through which cleaning fluid is drawn upon rotation of the drive shaft with the housing submerged in a cleaning fluid.

5 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures POWERED MEDICAL TOOL INCORPORATING MEANS FOR CLEANING THE SAIVIE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a powered medical tool and concerns a means and method through which the tool may be cleaned.

In the dental field, just as in the general field of the healing art, it is necessary to take extraordinary steps to ensure that the instruments or tools used upon a patient are clean. In many of the mechanically actuated tools used by a dentist or physician it is difficult, time consuming and tedious to properly clean the tool. The necessity for cleaning and the difficulty associated with such cleaning is apparent when one considers a tool, such as a dental prophylactic hand tool, which includes gearing or other suitable drive transmission means and which is utilized within the mouth area of the patient where it can be easily contaminated. The cleaning of such a tool is rendered even more difficult if the gears used therein require a lubricant. Tools of this type must generally be disassembled, dipped in one or more solutions to remove the lubricant and clean the tool and then reassembled. Recently, as shown in U. S. Pat. No. 3,389,468, efforts are being made to replace the allmetal type dental hand tools with comparable tools formed from organic synthetic materials and of a disposable type. Still such a disposable tool requires cleaning between periods of use, unless, alternatively, the dentist wishes to utilize a new tool for each patient. But such an alternative may be economically unfeasible.

In this invention, means is provided and a method is shown for cleaning a powered medical tool in a simple and economical manner without having to disassemble the tool.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The medical tool of this invention includes a housing having a chamber therein. A drive shaft is journaled in the housing and includes a first gear means which is positioned within the chamber. A driven shaft is also journaled within the housing and includes a second gear means which is positioned within the chamber. The first and second gear means intermesh so that rotation of the drive shaft causes rotation of the driven shaft. The housing includes at least one and preferably a plurality of passages which extend from the exterior of the housing into the chamber. The chamber is substantially closed except for these passages which are spaced apart and which define conduit means in conjunction with the chamber through which cleaning fluid is drawn when the drive shaft of the tool is rotated with the tool housing being submerged in a cleaning fluid.

The intermeshing of the first and second gear means upon rotation of the drive shaft causes the cleaning fluid to be drawn into the housing chamber where the fluid is agitated by the gear means, thus causing a cleaning of the gear means and chamber. The tool need not be disassembled and need only be run with its housing submerged in the cleaning fluid for a short period of time. Once the housing is removed from the cleaning fluid, continued rotation of the drive shaft serves to expel the cleaning fluid from the chamber and to dry the chamber and the gears therein. The housing, drive and driven shafts, and first and second gear means of this invention can be economically constructed from synthetic materials. Each tool may be cleaned and reused several times until the tool has been subjected to sufficient wear to warrant its disposal.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a medical tool having intermeshing gear means which can be cleaned in a simplified, time-saving manner.

It is another object of this invention to provide a powered medical tool which may be economically constructed and of the disposable type and which can be rapidly and simply cleaned between periods of use so as to extend the life of the tool.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a method for cleaning a powered medical tool.

Other objects of this invention will become apparent upon a reading of the inventions description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS A preferred embodiment of this invention has been chosen for purposes of illustration and description wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective viewof an angle drive head which is attachable to a dental hand piece and which carries a prophylactic cup.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary longitudinal sectional view taken along line 22 of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The preferred embodiment illustrated is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. It is chosen and described in order to best explain the invention and its practical application and use to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention.

The tool shown as the preferred embodiment is an angle drive head 10 which is adapted to be connected in an ordinary and well understood manner to a dental hand piece (not shown). Head 10 includes a housing 12 having a forward head portion 14 and a skirt portion 16. Head portion 14 of housing 12 defines a chamber 18 which is separated from skirt portion 16 by wall 26. A drive shaft 20 is journaled within housing 12 at wall 26 and extends coaxially along skirt portion 16 thereof. End 22 of drive shaft 20 is adapted to extend into the hand piece where it is coupled to a drive member which imparts rotary motion to the shaft. The opposite end of drive shaft 20 carries a bevel gear 24. Wall 26 of housing 12 includes a protruding annular rib 28 which encircles drive shaft 20 and against which gear 24 makes bearing contact. 3

An integral protrusion 30 extends downwardly into chamber 18 from the upper wall 32 of the housing portion. Gear 24 abuts protrusion 30 and is restrained from axial movement within housing 12 by being positioned between the protrusion and wall 26 of the housing. A bevel gear 34 is carried within chamber 18 and meshes with gear 24. Gear 34 includes oppositely extending, coaxial shaft parts 36 and 38. Shaft part 36 is journaled within a bore 40 formed in lower wall 42 of head portion 14. Shaft part 38 is journalled within a bore 44 formed in protrusion 30. Lower wall 42 includes a protruding annular rib 46 which encircles shaft part 36 of gear 34 and against which the gear makes bearing contact. A spherical member 48 is disposed within bore 44 of protrusion 30 and is positioned between upper wall 32 of head portion 14 and the end face 50 of shaft part 38 of the gear. Spherical member 48 acts as a thrust bearing during operation of the head.

Gear 34 includes means by which a dental or surgical tool, such as a drill or prophylactic cup can be attached. in the illustrated embodiment, shaft part 36 of gear 34 includes an internally threaded coaxial bore 52 into which the threaded shank of a prophylactic cup 54 used in the cleaning of teeth is turned. Rotation of drive chamber 18 and there agitated.

shaft causes rotation of gear 34 and the resulting rotary movement of cup 54.

Head portion 14 of housing 12 has two passages 56 and 58 formed therein. Passages $6 and 58 extend from the exterior of head portion 14 into the interior of chamber 18. Both passages 56 and 58, with passage 56 being located in upper wall 32 of the housing portion .and passage 58 being located in the lower wall 42 of the housing portion, preferably lie within a vertical plane which passes through the axis of drive shaft 20. Passage 56 is preferably located over gear 24 and positioned rearwardlyof protrusion 30. Passage 58 is preferably located forwardly of shaft part 36 of gear 34 and under the teeth portion of the gear.

To clean gears 24 and 34 and chamber 18 after use of head 10, the head while still connected to the hand piece is placed within a cleaning solution with the head portion 14 of the head being submerged within the solution. Cup 54 connected to gear 34 is preferably removed but need not be. The powered tool is then activated for approximately 30 to 60 seconds to cause rotation of gears 24 and 34. This rotation of gears 24 and 34 creates a pumping action within chamber 18 which causes the cleaning solution to be drawn into the chamber through one of the passages 56 and 58 and expelled therefrom through the other passage. As the cleaning fluid is drawn into chamber 18, it is agitated and causes a cleansing of the gears and chamber. It has been found that for a housing head portion having a general outer diameter of approximately seven-sixteenths of an inch satisfactory pumping action can be obtained with passages 56 and 58 each having a diameter of approximately 0.05 inches. While it is preferable for the passages 56 and 58 to be generally diametrically opposed, it is to be understood that such passages may be spaced longitudinally, laterally, or in other directions relative to the bevel gears. Additionally, such passages may be three or more in number if desired. On occasion, even one such passage would be Head 10 is preferably of the type which can be economically disposed of after a selected number'of hours of use; Thus, housing 12 may be formed of nylon with drive shaft 20 including gear 24, gear 36 and spherical member 48 being formed of acetal. Housing 12 may be of a bonded two-part symmetrical construction. Also this invention would have application for those housings and gears formed of metals or combinations of metal and plastic materials.

It is to be understood that this invention is not to be limited to the details herein given but that it may be modified within the scope of the appended claims.

Whatlclaim 's; 1. A medic tool comprising a housing having a chamber therein, a driveshaft journaled in said housing and including a first gear means positioned within said chamber, a driven shaft journaled in said housing and including a second gear means positioned in said chamber, said first and second gear means intermeshing wherein rotation of said drive shaft causes rotation of said driven shaft, said housing having a plurality of open passage means extending from the exterior of said housing into said chamber terminating adjacent said gear means and spaced from said drive and driven shafts, said chamber being substantially closed except for said passage means, one of said passage means for admitting a cleaning fluid into said chamber when that part of said housing defining said one passage means is submerged in said fluid, said plurality of passage means being spaced apart and defining conduit means in conjunction with said chamber for receiving said fluid drawn into said chamber through said one passage means by rotation of said first and second gear means when said housing part is so submerged in said fluid whereby said fluid causes the cleaning of said chamber.

2. The medical tool of claim 1 wherein there are two of said passage means formed in said housing.

3. The medical tool of claim 2 wherein said two passage means are oppositely located relative to said chamber.

4. The medical tool of claim 2 wherein one of said two passage means is located adjacent said first gear means and, the other of said two passage means is located adjacent said second gear means.

5. The medical tool of claim 2 wherein said two passage means lie in a vertical plane passing through the axis of said drive shaft.

#:sss 

1. A medical tool comprising a housing having a chamber therein, a drive shaft journaled in said housing and including a first gear means positioned within said chamber, a driven shaft journaled in said housing and including a second gear means positioned in said chamber, said first and second gear means intermeshing wherein rotation of said drive shaft causes rotation of said driven shaft, said housing having a plurality of open passage means extending from the exterior of said housing into said chamber terminating adjacent said gear means and spaced from said drive and driven shafts, said chamber being substantially closed except for said passage means, one of said passage means for admitting a cleaning fluid into said chamber when that part of said housing defining said one passage means is submerged in said fluid, said plurality of passage means being spaced apart and defining conduit means in conjunction with said chamber for receiving said fluid drawn into said chamber through said one passage means by rotation of said first and second gear means when said housing part is so submerged in said fluid whereby said fluid causes the cleaning of said chamber.
 2. The medical tool of claim 1 wherein there are two of said passage means formed in said housing.
 3. The medical tool of claim 2 wherein said two passage means are oppositely located relative to said chamber.
 4. The medical tool of claim 2 wherein one of said two passage means is located adjacent said first gear means anD the other of said two passage means is located adjacent said second gear means.
 5. The medical tool of claim 2 wherein said two passage means lie in a vertical plane passing through the axis of said drive shaft. 